Dr Mahathir Mohamad has pointed out that his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi performed better in the general election than Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak even with his sleep condition.
He was alluding to the criticism often lobbied at Abdullah, who is fondly known as Pak Lah, with regard to his penchant for stealing forty winks.
"Pak Lah slept and got (140) seats (in the 2008 general election), he (Najib) got 133 (seats in the last general election)," he told the online portal Perak Today.
He added that Najib fared worse despite giving out the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M).
"Giving BR1M so close to an election, was it an accident? The Chinese told me this was bribery and they were not going to vote," Mahathir said.
Mahathir, who played a key role in the ouster of Abdullah, is now calling on Najib to step down, failing which, he warned BN and Umno could lose in the coming national polls.
In his book titled 'Awakening', Abdullah revealed that Mahathir knew he had a sleep apnea problem but still went on to accuse him of sleeping on the job.
Meanwhile, Mahathir said the government should stop giving BR1M.
"We spend RM7 billion giving aid to people who are not even grateful. They say this is bribery," he said.
He added people who are in need of money do deserve help, but it should not be through handouts that would make them dependent.
"You don't want people to be dependent upon government. You want them to work for themselves," he said.
Thus, he said, the best way to help the poor is via development, creating jobs and business opportunities. - M'kini
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